Bears Make Their Way Into Cortez City Limits

A black bear was photographed on the front porch of a house on North Market Street

Cortez Police Department

Bears have been rambling through the city of Cortez this summer, prompting a warning to keep potential foods out of easy reach of the bruins.

The Cortez Journal reports one bear was caught in a night-time surveillance video on North Market Street recently, and others have been reported getting into trash on West Seventh Street and Stairway Drive. City animal control officer Lari Ann Pope advises putting garbage out the morning of pickup rather than the evening before, taking bird feeders in at night, and not leaving food items in cars.

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Residents of the town of Dolores will soon be required to use bear-resistant containers for their trash. The Cortez Journal reports that on Monday, the Town Board adopted an emergency ordinance mandating that businesses and homeowners use the containers, which will cost $10. The decision came after weeks of bear activity in the town, particularly on the night before regular trash pickup. The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office has been responding to bear sightings and chasing the animals away using rubber bullets.

Colorado’s black bears are dying for human food. The Denver Post reports that at least 34 bears have been killed so far this year by wildlife managers and homeowners because the bruins had become too bold. A 2016 study by a Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologist found that about one-fifth of bears on the West Slope and a third on the Front Range were eating human food even when enough natural foods were available. The easy availability of “people food” is leading to more conflicts between the state’s 17,000 to 20,000 bears and its human population.